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In this edition: Response to Radio Prague's broadcasts, listeners' monthly quiz. Listeners/readers quoted: Roger Chambers, Chun-quan Meng, Hans Verner Lollike, Jayanta Chakrabarty, Sirajul Islam, Jaroslaw Jedrzejczak, Chun-quan Meng.
“I heard your broadcast at 0400 UTC tonight on Internet Radio. I really enjoyed the feature on the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, as this was a place my wife and I visited during our week's stay in Prague in 2004, around May Day on the day the Czech Republic joined the E. U. My wife and I were on the Old Town Square on May 1 that year; that, and the premiere of Dmitri by Dvorak at the opera were the highlights of our trip to Europe, and first ever visit to the Czech Republic.
“I also enjoyed the jazz of 30s and 40s that ended your program. And I thoroughly enjoy your eclectic selection of music of various genres in the different language broadcasts. So now on Sunday evenings, I try to listen for an hour or two to various half hour programs, perhaps one with jazz, one with European or Czech pop, one classical, a really nice touch for perhaps 2 hours of this wide variety of music as I relax after work from about midnight to 2 am, as I work as nurse until nearly midnight (or after).”
Let’s move on to our monthly quiz. The correct answer to last month’s question isn’t Václav Laurin or Václav Klement but rather:
“Emil Škoda was born on 19 November 1839, and passed away on 8 August 1900. He was a Czech engineer and industrialist, founder of Škoda Works that later became the parent company of Škoda Auto,” writes Chun-quan Meng from China.
Hans Verner Lollike from Denmark was as usual among the first to write:
“His father was physician and politician František Škoda, and his mother Anna Říhová. He studied to be a machine engineer in Prague, Karlsruhe and Stuttgart in Germany. He had 4 children in his marriage with Hermine Hanenkamp. One of them was Karl Ritter, who later became general manager of ŠKODA Works.
Our regular contributor Jayanta Chakrabarty from India sent in this answer:
“Possessing a disciplined military background coupled with admirable entrepreneurial talent, a keen foresight for organizational nitty-gritty and business acumen, Emil Škoda was instrumental in the turnaround of Škoda Works in the enviable position as the biggest industrial complex in the whole of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and later of his beloved country of Czechoslovakia. It was Prague's Hornická Technical College that honed his skills to facilitate his appointment as chief engineer of the machine factory owned by Ernest Waldstein-Wartenberg in the initial years of his career. Taking ownership of Waldstein's plant, Plzeň came to be regarded as the industrial capital of Europe.
“Though Škoda Works supplied most of the arms and armaments for the First and Second World Wars, his ingenious innovative mind sought after production in varied branches like steel, aircraft, ships, steam turbines and locomotives. Škoda was first to produce the triple-barrelled gun turrets in the world. A true go-getter Czech personality with inexhaustible energy and determination, he was fully devoted to his commitments till his untimely death caused by a nagging stomach ailment. However, the Škoda imprint remains visible today not only in the Czech Republic's best-known car brand, but also in the sluices of the Suez Canal and in the power plant equipment in Niagara Falls.”
This answer is from Sirajul Islam from the Indian state of West Bengal:
“Škoda studied engineering in Prague and Karlsruhe and in 1866 became chief engineer of the machine factory of Ernst Fürst Von Waldstein-Wartenberg, founded in 1859 in Pilsen. He bought the factory three years later in 1869, and began to expand the facility in 1886, adding an arms factory in 1890 to produce machine guns for the Austro-Hungarian Army. His facilities continued to expand and he incorporated his holdings in 1899 as the Škoda Works, which would become famous for its arms production in both World War I and World War II and for a wide range of other industrial and transportation production.”
Jaroslaw Jedrzejczak from Poland wrote:
“In a short time, he created a network of subsidiaries and steered production to the arms industry. Emil Škoda died on August 8, 1900, leaving behind a company that has grown in subsequent years to the rank of leader in its field. In 1919, the department was created in the production of cars. Tractors, armored vehicles, aircraft engines - were destined for the army. Production of the first cars Škoda 25/100 - Hispano Suiza type H6B, under a license from the French, launched on November 10, 1924.”
Thank you for all your answers and this time our prize goes to Chun-quan Meng from China. Congratulations! If you haven’t been lucky this time, you can give it another shot in the coming weeks.
Our mystery man was born on February 14, 1879 in the Moravian town of Frenštát pod Radhoštěm. At the age of 22 he left for the United States where he became a sculptor and for almost 30 years headed the Art Institute of Chicago. A large proportion of his works are now displayed in a museum bearing his name in Winter Park, Florida.
If you want to be included in our lucky draw, please make sure your answer reaches us by August 10th at the usual address [email protected]. Mailbox will be back in four weeks’ time and in the meantime we’ll be looking forward to your reception reports, questions and comments, both in the mail and on our Facebook page. Until then, happy listening and take care.
